How many lawyers and paralegals are there in Ontario?
The Law Society of Upper Canada is the largest law society in Canada, with over 40,000 lawyer licensees (41,022 as of May 6, 2010 with 21,107 in private practice; 11,843 otherwise employed (education, government, etc.); 8,072 not employed in Ontario (retired, outside of Ontario, etc.)). 25,307 lawyers are male and 15,715 are female. However, since 2001 there are more women than men called to the bar every year. Women were first allowed to become barristers in Ontario in 1897. When Clara Brett Martin was admitted, the Law Society was the first such body to admit women to its ranks in the British Commonwealth. Women were slow to join at first. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the number of women in the legal profession increased significantly. As of May 7, 2010 there were 2,892 paralegal licensees (1,452 male and 1,440 females) in Ontario.
